1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to energy absorbers for vehicles and, more particularly, to an energy absorber which is installed between a bumper cover and a back beam of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, one way of protecting vehicle bodies in vehicle collisions and, moreover, protecting passengers, as shown in FIG. 1 is to provide a bumper cover 1 and a back beam 2 on each of the front and rear ends of a vehicle and to install an energy absorber 3 between the bumper cover 1 and the back beam 2 to absorb collision energy.
The shape of the energy absorber 3 itself changes in response to the collision energy and it absorbs the shock.
Typically, most conventional energy absorbers including the energy absorber 3 have a C-shaped cross-sectional structure. However, in the case of the conventional energy absorber 3 having the C-shaped cross-sectional structure, a cross-sectional length (designated by the dashed line L1 of FIG. 1) from an upper end to a lower end is excessively long. Thus, a buckling phenomenon easily arises attributable to collision energy.
The buckling phenomenon of the energy absorber 3 involves damage to the peripheral parts. Due to the damaged peripheral parts, the energy absorber 3 may not be able to absorb a sufficient amount of collision energy. Particularly, when the vehicle collides with a pedestrian, parts that are broken by the buckling phenomenon of the energy absorber 3 may exacerbate the degree of injury to the pedestrian.
Furthermore, in the case of a vehicle provided with a sensor installed in the bumper cover 1, an electric wire must be connected to the sensor and be disposed in the space between the bumper cover 1 and the energy absorber 3. However, the energy absorber 3 having the C-shaped cross-sectional structure cannot provide by itself a path along which the electric wire connected to the sensor can be disposed between the bumper cover 1 and the energy absorber 3. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that a separate path to install the electric wire must be configured.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.